


run towards the light

by hanjisungsslut



Series: Nightlife [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Lee Minho | Lee Know is a Sweetheart, M/M, Nostalgia, hes also kinda sassy, jisung is the bad boy, jisung smokes a little, kind of, minho is the class president, theres a playlist that goes with this lmao, this has a certain vibe i cannot name
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:48:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21911722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanjisungsslut/pseuds/hanjisungsslut
Summary: Lee Minho, the class president. Practical, intelligent and nothing short of a model-student, he really didn’t have any business being friends with Han Jisung.Han Jisung, the bad boy. Mischievous, rebellious and nothing short of a bad influence, he really didn’t have any business being friends with Lee Minho.And yet, it seemed like fate just kept pushing them together.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Series: Nightlife [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1578256
Comments: 22
Kudos: 340





	run towards the light

**Author's Note:**

> This kind of soft or something. For Amanda.
> 
> Note: This fic has been updated from its previous version. Changes have been made in light of recent information.

this isn’t a love story. well, it wasn’t  _ supposed  _ to be a love story. though that always happens, doesn’t it? it’s almost as if humans are designed with a magnet inside of them that pulls them to the closest magnet near them and that magnet becomes the object of their affection. that’s how a love story would describe it, anyway.

love was—to say the very least—a cliche. don’t even try to deny it, society knows the truth about what they’ve done. everyone wants to be a cliche, because that’s what is seen as normal. the worst part is; cliches are normal because they’re true.

and just like everything that ever blows up and makes a mark on the world, there will be haters to go along with the fans, those edgier beings with a holier than thou mindset that never seem to stop talking about the things they hate.

lee minho was this being, and he was rather proud of it. to minho, the world had two settings: real and romantic. there was how things really happened, the good, the bad and the ugly and then there was how everyone thought things happened thanks to  _ the notebook _ . 

and even despite his hatred for the way society and media so blatantly seemed to lie to the public, he himself was a cliche. he preferred to be called a stereotype; a well dressed, put together student body president with not a single mark on his record. in everyone’s eyes, minho was perfect.

he liked to think his reputation didn’t make him a cliche and he was right for the most part. what made him a cliche, however, was the second part of his story.

if there was someone still breathing on this earth who hated cliches as much as minho did, it was with no doubt, a boy by the name of han jisung. jisung was the school’s resident bad boy, or as minho liked to call him, the school’s resident bitch (he kept that one to himself). minho had not a single doubt in his mind that before high school was over, han jisung would end up in prison or dead. it was an assumption made by many who attended their school as well.

in everyone’s eyes, jisung was the only person who was one-hundred percent imperfect. 

unlike minho, jisung knew his reputation and overall shitty attitude made him a cliche, and even though he scrunched his nose at the thought, he kind of liked it. it gave people something to remember him by, and jisung was nothing if not a whore for attention. 

as expected, the two opposites did  _ not  _ get along. this wasn’t necessarily because they hated each other—though minho would surely tell everyone otherwise—but simply because they were too different. jisung took credit for offenses he didn’t commit, he purposefully broke rules when he knew he would get caught and he always found a sense of joy when minho was the one to bust him.

it irked minho, just how much this kid wanted the attention even if it meant getting thrown out of the school. he never did, no one really knew why. minho didn’t  _ hate  _ han jisung. he’s sure under any other circumstances, he would have probably been able to have a civilized conversation. that’s a lie, jisung couldn’t hold a civilized conversation in any dimension. 

a tuesday afternoon in mid-autumn, when leaves were collectively on the ground and the wind left pink on the cheeks of the fair skinned, minho was making his way up the heavy metal stairs to the roof, where he had left his reading glasses while watering the plants. he sighed as he climbed what felt like the twenty-eighth step to the roof, silently cursing himself for forgetting something so important up there.

the door to the roof was heavy and large and always snapped back with an even louder noise, it made minho flinch even when he was expecting it. it was no surprise that the sound the door made as it closed startled whomever was crouched behind the tulips and their words strung together in a mix of swears and exclamations.

as he neared closer, minho’s stomach filled with dread at the sight of the all-too-familiar orange-blond hair that desperately needed conditioning. the round, squirrel-like eyes of han jisung found his face and gave minho a stern look. “a little warning would have been nice.” he grumbled as he sat back against the tulips. his voice was rough, no doubt from the cigarette his right hand was holding.

“excuse me,” minho tried to sound as authoritative as he could when faced with someone with no regard for authority, “just what on earth do you think you’re doing up here?” his hands fidgeted nervously behind his back while he gauges the younger’s reaction. 

jisungs eyebrow quirked and minho didn’t miss how his eyes trailed from minho’s face and down the rest of his body. “i’m sitting, breathing, relaxing,” he took a drag from the cigarette in hand, “you should try it sometime.” the voice he used was monotone, as was almost everything out of jisungs mouth.

minho cleared his throat as the smell of nicotine reached his nostrils. god, how he hated that scent. “you are supposed to be in class.” he said while holding in a rather nasty cough. minho’s voice came out a little strained but he tried to keep the same authority.

“oh yeah?” jisung flicked the almost completely burned out cigarette, “and what are you going to do about it?” his gaze trained lazily on the sky above them, sun beaming down on tan skin and catching on jisungs many chains. 

“well, i’ll have to report your excessive tardiness to the dean.” minho sounded confident, though his inner-body was still being strangled by the lack of clean oxygen. he heard jisung let out a full and careless laugh.

“oh, you’ll have to, eh?” his voice was taunting when he replied, “what, it’ll just eat you from the inside out that you let the scumbug get away with breaking a rule, prince? god you’re fucking annoying.” the blonds expression turned quickly into one of annoyance and minho wasn’t far behind. 

“that kind of language isn’t necessary.” he could  _ hear  _ how clenched his teeth were. how this kid boiled his blood so much, he couldn’t even explain. 

jisung turned to him with a sly smirk. “what kind of language.” and minho’s eyes narrowed. “you know what kind.”

jisung chuckled, smile on full display as he crushed the remaining bit of the cigarette and stood up. “oh no, please repeat what i said that you classify as so vile.” he was inches from minho’s face. 

“i will not use such a word.” minho stared back out of nothing but pure spite. yes, that was definitely it.

“why? no ones here but me” the younger smiled again as he messed with something in his jacket pocket. minho glanced down to see his reading glasses carefully enclosed in the leather pocket of han jisungs jacket. of course.

“i will not succumb to your prodding, han.”

“ooh he uses fancy words, he’s an intellectual.” jisung took a step back and eyed the older. “see, i have a question have you ever, just once, tried taking a fucking xanax? i think it would do you wonders, lee.“ before minho could even get another word in, jisung interrupted, “see you around dickface.”

han jisung walked off the roof with a smirk, hands playing with the pattern on the side of minho’s glasses. every single time they interacted, minho was more and more surprised by how effortlessly playful han jisung was and how effortlessly irritating he managed to be at once.

+++

not having his glasses was beginning to hinder minho in more ways than one. in his classes, words blurred together, he had trouble taking notes and god help him if he couldn’t figure out what the formula on this test was. it took him a solid 3 and a half minutes to find out that the locker he had visited before class wasn’t even his. to top it all off, his glasses weren’t even lost anymore, he knew exactly where they were. 

of course, at the root of all his problems, was han jisung. somehow, knowing jisung had his glasses bothered him more than the thought of having actually misplaced them. he shuffled out of his classroom, squinting as to even see his own feet. beside him, a small hand rested on his shoulder as a guide. he could see people and shapes fine, but it was comforting to have an extra presence, especially when it was felix.

felix was a foreign exchange student who learned korean rather quickly upon his departure from australia. he still struggled sometimes, their friend, seungmin, always helping him with words he couldn’t place. minho and felix did their best to shove politely through the hallways to minho’s locker. he was sure it was his this time.

as felix entered in the older’s combination for him, minho found his eyes wandering toward the open door of the dean's office. deep brown eyes met his own as he peered so curiously in. with his head tossed back and resting in his hands, han jisung quirked an eyebrow at minho’s piercing gaze and chuckled.

minho gave him a disapproving look and turned back towards his locker. felix moves out of the way when it opened and minho’s eyes almost bulged out of his head. on top of his very organized stack of books, his glasses sat tucked in the back corner, like they had been there the whole time. the brunet spun around, searching for mysterious eyes of the only person who could’ve done this. 

when his gaze found the chair that previously held han jisung, he found it empty and the door to the dean’s office closed. minho held his glasses in his hand, clean and completely unharmed. felix gave him a weird look and just laughed as he walked back to class. head only slightly fuzzy, minho slipped the glasses into his pocket and pivoted on his left heel. 

he would have to ask about it later, he supposed, but for now, science called.

+++

this was, as most things were, han jisungs fault.  _ this  _ being minho’s constant inner turmoil about why the holy biscuits the delinquent had returned minho’s glasses to him unharmed. it plagued his mind for days, everytime he slid them behind his ears to read anything, there were the thoughts again.

it made no sense why someone like han jisung would not only  _ return _ something he had stolen but return it unharmed. especially when this thing belonged to minho. the brunet had thought long and hard about what sort of ulterior motive the younger might have, but came up empty every single time.

his brain pushed him to  _ just ask _ but he also knew he would get no answers from jisung. that little jerk. he finally managed to get the entire situation off his mind while doing his daily walk throughout the campus. his off period was too short to go anywhere and often he couldn’t focus on his work without going around the school for a bit.

and just as the boy had exited his mind, han jisung came crashing back in. the west wing was temporarily closed off to students with renovations being done to the bathrooms, yet there stood the most obnoxious blond in history, han jisung, against the door to the newly renovated bathroom.

“this hallway is off-limits, han.” minho was rather pleased with himself when he saw jisung startle, only to be replaced with a glare when he saw who it was. minho couldn’t help the prideful smirk that came to his face.

shoving his phone in his pocket, the younger pushed himself off the door, making sure to take his sweet time. “oh no,” he feigned a fearful expression, “are you gonna write me up to the dean again? should i get on my knees and beg now or later?” his expression melted into a cockier one.

minho huffed and leaned against the lockers, trying to sound like he  _ wasn’t  _ on the brink of losing his everloving mind. “someday, somebody is going to have enough of your antics.” he replied in a stern tone, as if he were scolding his three-year-old cousin.

jisung shuffled closer, leaning against the locker near minho. he fixed the other with a look that the brunet found rather irritating and definitely not attractive in the slightest. definitely not. “you already have,” jisung reaches over and picked at one of the buttons on minho’s shirt, “but what have you done about it? oh right, not a damn thing.”

he was close now, too close. minho could feel the others eyes boring into him and he suddenly felt very self-aware. he squirmed, only a little as to not let the other see. “i don’t believe in violence.” 

jisung three his head back and had the audacity to laugh rather loudly at minho’s response. his head snapped forward again, strands of blond falling into his eyes and  _ god he was too close. _

“try saying that without looking like you wouldn’t give anything to break my jaw right now.” 

minho clicked his tongue in fake annoyance. really, all he wanted to do was put some freaking  _ distance  _ in between them. “it won’t be me, but someone won’t be willing to put up with it and will just knock your pretty face into your skull.”

jisung chuckled, leaning forward. “didn’t know you thought so highly of me, lee.”

“i’m afraid you’ve lost me.”

“just didn’t know you thought i was pretty. i mean, you’re obviously not wrong, but hearing you admit it is like seeing a baby walk.” 

minho scoffed, turning away to hide his blushing cheeks. “i definitely did not insinuate that i find you attractive.” he mumbled against his sleeve.

“but you do, don’t you?” 

minho twirled around now, eyes wide and mouth agape. jisung leaned impossibly closer, breath fanning minho’s face. “tread carefully, han,” minho looked him square in the eye despite his pink cheeks, “we both know this is a dangerous game you’re playing. you don’t appear to be too good at games.”

jisungs eyes darkened and he leaned  _ in again.  _ minho was panicking rather loudly on the inside but kept his composure. the blonds eyes trailed downwards to the olders lips before snapping back up. “i think i’m pretty good at this one.”

oh minho had to get the hell out of there. he rolled his eyes and balled his fists beside him. “well, i think you’re still awful at it. get to class.” he very quickly walked down the hallway, not even bothering to glance behind him as he hid his flushed cheeks with his hands.

+++

yes, minho very much enjoyed ignoring his problems and pretending everything was fine, thank you for asking. the problem in question? well that’d be a orange-blond boy with a crooked smile whose name went something like han jisung. 

minho was so good at ignoring things, he often ignored them until they just went away, gone like they were never there. han jisung, however, was more like a mosquito; a pestering nuisance you would have to poison to get rid of. 

the worst part of the entire thing, the gag if you will, was that han jisung  _ knew  _ of minho’s perfectly acceptable intentions and seemed to make it his life's mission to put a stop to it. and here minho was thinking this was going to be a normal week.

every corner minho turned, every classroom he entered, every stairwell he slipped down, han jisung was waiting with a sly smirk and a very obvious stare. minho shuffled past every time as if he didn’t even notice the other. and every time, han jisung would laugh and follow him for about 3 minutes before disappearing to probably commit a crime somewhere.

unfortunately for minho; he was a rule-follower and jisung was a rule-breaker. this meant it was all too easy for the younger to get his attention. that bastard. 

majority of his previous problems hadn’t been people and 9/10 hadn’t been absolute hellions. there’s a first time for everything, he supposed. he really did it this time. 

it was in between the third and fourth block when minho had to face his troubles as they stood by the football field, flicking ashes into the soil. he wanted to walk away, but his gut told him he had to stop the blond from literally destroying their field. 

his boots crunched the gravel beneath his feet, little rocks digging themselves in between his soles. jisung hadn’t paid any mind to him yet, continuing to tap the end of the cigarette with his finger.

“skipping again, han?” yes, very good opener, minho. jisungs dark eyes fluttered upward and locked into minho’s own. for a reason minho could not entirely explain, the others gaze made his stomach feel empty. 

“just looking for some peace and quiet, lee.” jisungs voice was monotonous and his words were sharp, yet something about the way his face relaxed told minho he was assumed by his presence and it urged him to keep going. 

he couldn’t bite back his laugh at the statement. “oh, i’m sure. poor han jisung, he works so hard.” the air between them was lighter now that minho was smiling. he didn’t smile often, not genuinely, at least. jisung chuckled too, crushing the only half-burned cigarette beneath his boot. “what part of peace and quiet did you not get, lee?”

he was walking towards him slowly, shuffling his feet around in the most nonchalant way jisung could pull off. that wasn’t saying much of anything, jisung was anything but casual. despite his words, he was flashing that crooked smile now with his hands stuffed into his pockets. 

“the part where it didn’t involve me dragging you back to fourth period.” minho replied easily, finding himself rather enjoying the lighter banter as opposed to their normal harsh words. or whatever that was the other day by the lockers. yikes.

jisung roller his eyes, still moving closer. “i would rather you drag me off the side of the building.” 

and minho laughed, here he was laughing with han jisung, the boy who should’ve been his biggest rival. oh, the many sides of a teenage boy. “both could be arranged.” the words rolled right off the brunet’s tongue. 

it was silent for a moment, laughs dying down into small chuckles. the bell rang and minho made a move to go to his next class, suddenly very conscious about the time. jisung watched him go for a moment, smiling at his retreating back and reaching into his pocket for another cigarette. 

“you’re not supposed to smoke on campus!” he heard minho yell without even looking back. how did he know? jisung shook his head as he held the lighter in his right hand, hesitating before lighting it. 

“why don’t you just complain to the dean about air pollution and save ourselves the extra conversation.” jisung shouted back around the cigarette. a smile was evident in his voice.

“i don’t like to see others in trouble, too much paperwork.” minho pivoted on his heel and began to walk backwards in hopes of catching jisungs reaction or maybe seeing his face again.  _ definitely _ the first one. 

“could’ve fooled me.”

minho feigned offense, his hand finding his heart through his chest. “i’ve always been very polite to you.”

jisung chuckled again, temporarily removing the cigarette to scream back, “my friends and i have a bet. i think you write about eight citations in a day just for the hell out of it. my friends think differently, one of them thinks it’s six a day and the other one is just putting money in to be apart of the bet.”

minho stumbles a little. jisung talked about him to his friends? what on earth could they possibly be discussing to warrant such conversation? the question slipped off his tongue before his brain fully caught up, “and why would your friends have a bet going about me?”

jisungs cheeks flushed pink for a moment, minho thinks. the cigarette was shoved back through his teeth, the lighter being palmed in jisungs hand.

“because you’re predictable and we like money.”

minho scowled and almost hit a wall with his walking direction. “i am not predictable.” he insisted.

jisung laughed again. “yes, you are. am i gonna have to walk myself to the office or are you going to do it?”

it was minho’s turn to laugh and flush slightly. why did jisung have to say it like it was something they did regularly? like minho was walking him to class? ugh.

“i was going to let you off this once but if you insist.” minho shrugged and motioned for jisung to follow him. the blond quickly stuffed the unlit cigarette in his pocket along with the lighter and caught up to the brunet. 

“no, you weren’t.” he stated matter-of-factly. 

a thought occurred to minho and he gulped, grabbing at the straps of his backpack and pulling it closer to him. “thanks for the glasses, by the way.” his voice was hardly above a mumble and after a beat of silence, he almost repeated himself until han jisung said, “i have not a fucking clue what you’re talking about.” 

the subtle wink he sent minho said more than enough. something about them changed that day, a shove in a different direction perhaps. but at the end of the day, minho was minho; star student with a 4.5 GPA and jisung was jisung; delinquent child with 498 marks on his record. both of which were fine with their labels, and wore them with pride. both of which forgot their descriptions and reputations when speaking to each other. oh how they were doomed.

+++

long after the sun had set on the horizon and dawn was nearer than dusk, a phone rang. minho turned over in his bed, the glaring red of his alarm clock telling him it was 3:27 in the morning. the obnoxious tone of his own cell phone enveloped the room in a melody of some beethoven song he didn’t even know the name of.

the number displayed on the screen was unknown, but he figured if someone was calling him at this time, it must be important. minho was sure his hoarse voice sounded like an old man who smoked three packs a day through the phone. before he could even get a “hello?” out of his mouth, the voice on the other end cut him off.

“minho? it’s jisung. meet me at ssangam park in fifteen.” 

minho opened his mouth to reply, bewilderment and the sudden interruption of sleep overtaking his features, however, the call was abruptly ended and he was met with a dial tone. minho sighed. 

under any normal circumstances, minho would call back and demand an explanation. but it hadn’t been hyunjin or even jeongin who had called. it had been jisung, and han jisung didn’t call random numbers in the middle of the night for just any reason.

he dragged himself out of bed, pulling an oversized hoodie around his body and stepping into the sweatpants he had left on the floor. sneaking out of his bedroom window posed a much greater challenge than he had originally anticipated. the tree outside was old and twisted, wrapping around itself at odd angles. halfway down, his foot lost grip and he plummeted to the grass. 

he made sure to steady himself quickly and took off for the park, practically having to jog to ssangam. there was a small swing set that had been placed in the last year. the once clean and shiny metal now sat rusted and worn, the chains holding up metal swings were barely hanging on themselves.

the boy sat in the left swing seemed to resemble them a lot. blond hair blew in his eyes as han jisung watched the stars with intent. minho hadn’t registered the soft sniffles and tear-filled eyes until now. “hey,” he spoke softly, afraid of disturbing the balance the night had set. the sniffling ceased and he was met with the sight of sad eyes that contrasted the beautiful smile stretched on the others face.

minho carefully took a seat beside jisung, the gentle breeze making him shiver in this cold. jisung turned back to the stars, hazy glow reflecting in the unspilled pools. “is there a reason you called me?” minho found himself asking out of pure curiosity.

the boy next to him looked ethereal. his cheeks were stained with dried tears and his mouth was set into a frown as if he couldn’t control it. if minho looked closely, he could see the younger’s bottom lip quiver. jisung didn’t offer a verbal explanation, he didn’t offer anything more than a vague nod. 

“do you want to talk about it?” minho prompted once more. he couldn’t place why exactly, but he wanted to be someone jisung could talk to. he wanted to be there for him, wanted to be his  _ friend _ . why jisung had called him of all people was a mystery to minho. an even bigger mystery, was how jisung had acquired minho’s number in the first place, but he placed that on the back burner for another time.

his question was answered with a head shake and he knew he had to respect the others wishes. jisung hadn’t taken his gaze off the stars. when minho looked at him properly, he noticed the slight shake in jisungs fragile hands. in a moment of bravery, minho reached over and carefully took one of trembling hands. 

he was met with no reaction for several long moments and just as he was beginning to second-guess himself, the grip on his hand tightened and he held on for dear life. their hands swung back and forth, softly as their seats rocked with the wind and they both watched the stars for several minutes in complete silence. 

minho’s eyes were getting heavy and he could feel himself almost falling asleep despite the uncomfortable setting. a weight on his shoulder had his eyes flying open and landing on the mop of blond hair now occupying his left arm. as much as he wanted to shift away—it  _ was  _ rather uncomfortable—he smiled and swung their hands again and the two of them sat there until the stars disappeared and the sun came up.

when they finally departed, jisung wrapped his arms around the older, and his steel grip was now settled on minho’s shoulders. minho did nothing to stop him, he simply held him back. there were no more words spoken, just a small smile and a few concerned glances was the entire conversation.

jisung wasn’t at school the following monday, and minho envied him for catching up on some missed sleep. he had saved the number on his phone, and was tempted to text jisung, but he decided against it when he opened the contact.

neither of them spoke about it the tuesday when jisung returned. minho released a breath he had been holding in for days when he saw the cocky smirk on the blonds bastard face. when their eyes met, jisung flashed minho a sly smile and minho knew that han jisung was okay. 

as much as he wanted to roll his eyes or feign irritation at the younger, he couldn’t bring himself to do anything other than chuckle. jisung was fine, his  _ friend  _ was okay. he flashed jisung a genuine grin and laughed a little when the other gave him a raised eyebrow and a scoff in return.

+++

he wasn’t sure when it had become routine to leave lunch fifteen minutes early and roam the hallway aimlessly with the school’s “rough image,” yet minho always found himself throwing away and recycling his trash early to go meet the other. he hugged his books to his chest while they walked, cringing at the sound of jisungs fingernails scraping against the cheap paint of the lockers.

they settled on the stairs today, minho with a textbook in his lap and back against the wall, and jisung with a torn stress ball and leaned in an uncomfortably awkward position over the railing. the ball left jisungs hand and hit the ceiling, falling flat in his palm in a steady pattern. 

minho had noted a few times before that they weren’t the likeliest of friends. jisung hung out with changbin, a junior with an all-black wardrobe and a deadly scowl, he wore leather and ripped clothing and his stress ball had fingernails markings all over the surface. minho hung out with his best friends, all of which were academically attractive.

two rich kids from the area he lived in, a foreign exchange student from australia with a black belt and extended stay, a graduate who currently attending one of the most pretentious schools in the country and a freshmen will more intelligence than their school could handle.

minho didn’t fit the roughed-up image jisung and his friends had, he wasn't obnoxious or loud, he didn’t enjoy starting trouble or paining buildings with colors. he was nothing like anyone jisung could ever see himself associating with. and maybe jisung liked it that way. 

jisung was a 180 for minho as well. all of his friends shared a passion for knowledge and learning and they all were think-inside-the box types. jisung was the most outside-the-box person he knew, abstract and minho could never imagine sitting down in the library to compare biology notes with jisung the same way he did with his other friends. 

there was no logical explanation for them to be friends or to even interact outside of minho writing jisung citations for his stunts. logic didn’t stop the unexplainable pull they both felt towards each other, nothing did. the first day jisung transferred after getting kicked out of his old school, he felt it. minho did too, not that he would ever admit that.

their rivalry, if you could even call it that, was all minho's doing and jisung had played into the older’s hand, not caring enough to do anything but. whatever the pull was, it had clearly won though, as they both sat on the steps, one with a cigarette and the other with a lollipop.

“i am so going to fail this calculus test.” minho grimaced, his head smacking rather harshly against the brick walls of their school building. he heard jisung scoff and sit up on his elbows, his gaze fixed on the book in minho's lap. 

jisungs head lolled to the side to watch him. “shut up, lee,” his voice was strained from the off position, “your idea of failing is an eighty-nine percent.” minho watched had jisung brought his cigarette to his lips. minho didn’t like the smell.

“well, what’s your idea of failing?” minho inquired. he was looking for anything to distract him from the hell that was cramming for math. 

jisung shifted, the smirk on his face displaying trouble. “fifteen.” he said shortly and brought the stick back to his lips. he laughed as minho’s eyes bulged and his heart sped at an unstoppable rate. “you’ve gotten a fifteen before?” 

jisung found it entirely too funny, and plowed his arm to dangle from the railing as the chuckles escaped him. “many times.” he replied and he may as well have left her hanging, because that was certainly not what she hoped to hear. 

“out of one-hundred?” minho asked while developed in bewilderment. jisung threw the ball and caught it perfectly yet again. he nodded, repeating the pattern a few times before tossing it up. minho’s nose unintentionally twitched when he thought about scoring a fifteen.

“cute,” jisung said softly, under his breath. minho wasn’t sure he was supposed to hear that. the panicked look on jisungs face confirmed his theory. “what?” he asked, dumbly.

jisungs cheeks burned with the heat of a thousand suns. “your nose scrunch is cute,” jisung was looking anywhere but minho’s face when he said this. since when did their school have a storage closet next to the stairs? when the fuck had that been a thing? 

he heard minho scoff. “my nose scrunch is not cute, it is full of shock and distaste.” minho was using his big boy voice again. jisungs eyes rolled. “doesn’t mean it’s not cute, have you seen the way you look at me?”

the sound of footsteps stopped the conversation there. jisung threw his cigarette out the window, minho quickly pouring the contents of his water bottle on the stick because “you forgot to put it out!” both of them climbed the rest of the stairs, going in opposite directions without a word and the promise that they would meet at the same place the next day. 

+++

saturday evening was a busy night for minho. he was cramming for a calculus test yet again, his hands calloused and littered with tiny paper cuts from frantically flipping pages. his head hurt and back ached, and all he wanted to do was close his eyes and scream. 

a loud tapping on the window startled him, his hand instinctively reaching for the baseball bat under his desk. he never played baseball, never even knew someone who did, and yet for some reason there was wooden bat under his desk at all times. the rolling chair he sat in whipped around with his body, the bat held awkwardly but ready to strike.

through the glass, there was han jisung, sitting in the tree outside minho’s window. he sighed, dropping the bat back under the table and shuffling to the window. it opened with a click, and there was jisung in all his glory. 

“hey babe ruth, the fuck you planning to do with that?” he nodded his head towards the bat. minho rolled his eyes. typical. han jisung comes to  _ his  _ house, knocks on  _ his  _ window and has the audacity to insult  _ him.  _ if minho had half a brain right now, he would close the window in jisungs face, but it was completely fried from algebra equations. 

“i was in attack mode.” he deadpanned. for some reason, this made jisung erupt in a fit of giggles which earned a glare from minho. he really should close the window. 

“attack mode? and you’d what, knock me out of the tree?” jisung laughed with his whole chest. minho’s eyes narrowed. “i should knock you out of it right now, han.” 

jisungs fit died down and he reached in the window to lightly shove the older back. the brunet swatted at his hand in dismay. his position outside in the tree looked oddly uncomfortable yet totally normal for jisung. 

“you know, having a tree outside your window is some teen indie movie bullshit.” jisung stated, eyebrow raised and taunting. the shitheadery of this tool. 

“climbing a tree outside my window to get my attention is some teen indie movie bs. may i ask why you’re perched like an owl in said tree?” minho crossed his arms over his chest. 

he replied, “there’s a carnival tonight. you’re coming with me.” jisungs signature jacket hung off his shoulders, matching the confident smirk on his face. he was right, this  _ was  _ some teen indie movie bs. 

“i have to study.” minho sighed. the other didn’t look phased, gripping the seal for balance. he shrugged his leather-clad shoulders with nonchalance. 

“you study enough, you’re the top student. you deserve a little fun.”

minho considered it for a minute. his parents would never let him leave at this time of night, especially not with a test so near, but what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them, the alternative being them coming into his room to find the towns bad boy outside his window. and jisung was right, he  _ did  _ deserve some fun.

the older gave in with an eye roll, throwing on a hoodie and a pair of sneakers before climbing out alongside the blond. jisung skillfully climbed down the jagged tree, minho mimicking his foot placements. how jisung managed to find the pattern was a mystery to minho. 

they walked in silence for a little bit, before jisung started off on a wild rant about being compared to a squirrel so often. minho didn’t say it aloud, but he agreed; jisung looked like a squirrel. a cute squirrel. he definitely didn’t say that aloud.

minho hadn’t even realized jisung was leading the way until a string of colored lights caught his attention. there were a bunch of rides all stacked on top of each other, all illuminating in the night. jisung pulled him forward, matching straight past the ticket collector.

waves of different voices and music overwhelmed minho’s senses at once, but the tug on his wrist kept him focused on the boy in front of him. “i want to go on the ferris wheel.” jisung said, quickly dragging minho to the contraption.

minho felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. jisung didn’t know minho was afraid of heights. he felt anxiety pooling in his chest, but the grip on his wrist didn’t loosen as they got in line. minho took deep breaths to attempt to calm himself. he could do this, it would be fine. he wasn’t going to let his fear stop jisung from doing this.

soon enough, the worker motioned for them to get in an empty cart and jisung glanced back before getting in. the look on minho’s face said it all as he was strapped in. “minho, what’s wrong?” jisungs whispered words served as a grounding tool.

“it’s just a little high is all.” minho replies as the ride started moving. jisung cursed under his breath. “why didn’t you say anything?” he mumbled, running his hand over where minho now dead-gripped his arm.

“it’s not that big of a deal.” minho tried to say it with confidence but it came out in more of a wheeze. he screwed his eyes shut as they approached the top and instead focused on the circles being drawn on the back of his hand. his cheeks heat up at the thought. 

jisung kept whispering to him, assuring him that he was okay and when it was okay to look. minho focused on nothing else but jisung, all of his senses filled with the younger. it was laughable, the boy deemed as cold and prickish was comforting him. minho was quickly finding out, there were many sides to han jisung.

the younger felt incredibly bad, cursing himself for not checking with minho to make sure it was okay beforehand. the kid looked four seconds from a panic attack and kept squeezing his eyes shut everytime they went up or down. when his eyes  _ were  _ open, they were looking at jisung and he wasn’t sure what the look in his eyes meant.

he continued running shapes on the back of the elders hand, watching him intently as he calmed down a little each time. he looked incredible bathed in the colored lights, though jisung supposed now was not the time for that. 

he watched the conductor carefully and when he reached forward to stop the ride, jisung slipped his hand under minho’s and held it. the brunets eyes flew open, immediately skipping over their distance from the ground and straight to jisung. he just smiled and acted like his heart wasn’t running ninety to nothing.

the conductor unstrapped them, and it didn’t take more than a second for minho to be off the ride and standing on the platform to wait for jisung. the latter huffed a small chuckle and climbed out too, resuming his previous position of holding minho’s hand.

the rest of the night was much better. even though minho’s fear limited their options as far as rides, they had a lot of fun at the booths, snack bars and rides a little closer to the ground. jisung never wanted to eat pink cotton candy ever again.

“sorry for freaking out on you.” minho murmured as they walked back, stomachs full of junk food. jisung shook his head, mentally noting how neither of them had let go of the others hand in quite some time. “sorry for not asking you before dragging you on.” jisung responded.

they walked in silence for a little bit before minho spoke again. “im scared of heights. and really loud noises, i don’t like those. balloons popping is one of the worst, i hate it.” 

jisung just stared, not sure what to say. he nodded like an idiot when minho looked to him, not registering the unasked question lingering. “uh,” he started dumbly, “i don’t like weird patterns. i know it sounds stupid but clusters of small holes and things like that creep me out. i think there’s a word for it.”

minho nodded. “trypophobia.” jisung recognized the word. they talked about the most random things. minho’s favorite color was mint, he was an only child and was ambidextrous, he liked autumn. jisungs favorite color was red, he had an older brother he didn’t know and a cousin he didn’t speak to much, and he was good at drawing characters, he liked winter. 

by the time they were onto shoe sizes, minho’s house was just around the corner. he memorized the pattern jisung took to get up the tree and surprisingly executed it well. jisung followed him up to “make sure he got there safe.” as the brunet climbed in the window, a thought occurred to him, and he laughed. jisung leaned forward to close the window and just as his hands grabbed the seal, minho leaned forward, out the window, and kissed the younger’s cheek.

before jisung had time to react, minho had pulled down the window and drew the curtains with a giggle. jisung sat in the tree for another few seconds, processing what the fuck had just happened. his climb down was slow and he was still a little dazed when he reached the bottom. lee minho, student body president, had kissed him on the cheek.

what. the. fuck.

+++

it was family tradition for minho and his parents to eat dinner together every night. he wasn’t sure why, it was always generic questions and the sound of a spoon hitting a bowl that filled their dining room for about an hour. but tonight, minho was practically bouncing in his seat. 

since that saturday, minho had been meeting jisung at the park every night. he was still sneaking out of his bedroom window at ungodly hours of the morning to go lay on a picnic table and watch jisung as he watched the stars. 

minho never seemed to be half as interested in the stars as he was in the way jisungs lips curled back when he smiled, or how his eyes brightened when he laughed, or especially how the stars made his eyes look ten times deeper. he found that jisung consumed his thoughts a lot lately, and whether that was a good or bad thing, he couldn’t find it in himself to care. 

he hadn’t even realized he had spaced out until his father had snapped his fingers in front of his face. he looked up quickly, cheeks burning as he shook his head no to whatever it was his father was offering. he ate quickly, hoping to get upstairs and get some rest before meeting with jisung later tonight. he was just about to excuse himself from the table when his father spoke.

“you know son, i actually did want to talk to you about something.”

minho froze. his father didn’t look angry, but he didn’t look exactly pleased. that wasn’t good, that was never good. he sat back down, folding his napkin in his lap and nodding. “yes sir?”

his father's spoon hit the bowl loudly. 

“i’ve been talking with your teachers. emails, here and there.”

minho didn’t swear. he didn’t. but oh,  _ oh  _ shit.

“your grades are slipping a little bit. not much, hardly noticeable but i’m just wondering what else could be on your mind. what else could be more important than you studies.” 

minho felt his hands get clammy under the table. he shook his head, not meeting his father's eye. “nothing. i’ll get them back to where they were, i promise.” his voice was a lot quieter than he intended. his father grunted in response.

“so you mean to tell me that boy, that han boy, isn’t distracting you?” his father said, and minho flinched. how did his father find out about jisung? how? his tongue suddenly felt very heavy in his mouth. all he could do was shake his head, but his father pushed on.

“i’ve gotten emails from your teachers, minho. they’re worried you’re going to fall into the wrong crowd. i’ve heard my fair share of things about that boy and none of them good. i don’t know what it is but he’s not a good influence on you. you think we don’t know you’re sneaking out every night to god knows where? we do, minho, and of i had to guess it’s because of that boy. you’ve always been a polite and helpful kid and i’m not sure if you see this boy as a charity case or—“ and at that moment, minho snapped.

“don’t call him that.” his voice was firmer than even he had expected. his father's jaw snapped shut in shock. “jisung is  _ not  _ a charity case and he’s  _ not  _ a bad influence. i hang around him because i like being around him.” he still couldn’t meet his father's eyes.

“minho, show some respect for your father,” his mother butted in, “he's only looking out for you. that boy isn’t good news, he’s only going to bring you down. your studies are already suffering and—“ 

“WHY IS IT YOU DON’T SEEM TO CARE ABOUT ANYTHING BUT THE STUPID STUDIES?!” he shouted his thoughts before his brain had even registered them. “why is it always about the family name this and studies that and i have to be successful in order to mean anything to you? why is it my friends have to be rich and conveniently smart or they’re viewed as street-scum and unworthy?”

he knew an argument was just around the corner, and before either of his parents could say anything, he had run out the front door, not in the mood to hear any of it. it was always about his studies, their reputation and his future success. it was  _ never _ about minho's happiness. for as long as he could remember, his parents never asked how school was or about minho’s friends lives, just about his studies and briefly about the people he hung around. they didn’t care whether or not he was happy, just that he made them look good. 

he knew how they worked by now. they would poke and pry and bring up all sorts of negative things about jisung until minho would get tired of hearing about it and just stop talking to the other. it was what happened every time they didn’t approve of one of minho's friends. he was sick of it, and he wouldn’t let them do it again. 

for once in his life, minho wasn’t worried about the studies or the aftermath or the effects of what had just happened, he wasn’t even worried about having to face them the next night at dinner, he just wanted to get to the park where he knew jisung would be waiting as he always was.

the night air was cold and minho wished he’d had half a brain cell to grab a jacket when he left. the streets were lit by the soft glow of the moon and minho couldn’t help but feel the uncertainty in the air that night. what it was about, he couldn’t be sure.

jisung was on his back when minho approached, laying out on the table and his eyes trained on the stars. he didn’t even look up at the obvious crunching of rocks under minho’s shoes. “what are you doing here at this hour?” his voice was strained from laying down.

minho laughed a little to himself. he’d been coming here for almost a week but every night, jisung seemed more surprised to see him. “looking for you.” he replied as he slipped onto the table next to him. 

jisung hummed and shifted to give minho more room. he relaxed and laid back. “as always.” jisung said cheekily and minho couldn’t even find it in himself to be mad. jisung lolled his head to the side, studying minho’s side profile. “what’s on your mind?”

minho just sighed. of course, jisung would notice. “just a fight with my parents, nothing new.”

jisung nodded, though he didn’t have any experience in the area. he turned back to the stars and pushed his hands behind his head. “i hear you. well, you’re always welcome at casa de la han.”

minho chuckled. “han house?”

“sure.” jisung rolled his eyes, “we don’t offer breakfast or really anything other than a shitty mint on the pillow.

minho turned his head to the side and looked at jisung with an endearing expression. “i like mints.” he said with a soft smile and jisung giggled.

“good.” there was a beat of silence, both of them studying the night sky and it’s deep blue. “what was the fight about, if you don’t mind my asking.” jisung watched minho chew his lower lip.

“same things it’s always about. i give them everything, they want more. nothing i do is going to meet their expectations.”

“that’s bullshit. you’re the smartest person i know.”

“you know three people.”

“and you’re the smartest of three.” minho couldn’t help but laugh as jisung said it. he supposed it was compliment.

“ thank you. god, i know i’m gonna get screamed at tomorrow morning for shouting earlier. it doesn’t matter, i’ll never live up to the lee family name.”

both of them fell into silence yet again after that. minho was afraid he had annoyed jisung with all his pitying. he opened his mouth to begin talking about anything else but was cut off by jisungs abrupt statement.

“fuck it.”

minho furrowed his eyebrows. “fuck what?”

“fuck the lee family name.” jisung exclaimed and he bolted upright. minho knew what that meant.

“i don’t think i follow.” his voice exuded caution as he sat us slowly as well. jisung was off the bench now, pacing in front of the elder with a wild look in his eyes.

“to hell with expectations and standards. what do you want?”

for the second time that night, minho froze. “i-i don’t know. no one has ever asked me that before.” he stuttered weakly through a reply. 

“really? well, you’d better come up with something soon because i have an idea.”

“pray tell.”

“i, for one, want to leave this bum ass city and just go. to freedom, to another town, to hell, wherever. i want to do something and for once, it will be entirely up to me.” his hands were all over the place, gesturing wildly and his voice was only a little too loud for the nighttime, but minho watched and listened carefully.

“doesn’t that sound like a dream.” he sighed at the mere thought of it. freedom from everything and everyone, a paradise.

“ it doesn’t have to be.”

minho’s thoughts were put on a full pause.

“i’m gonna regret asking, but what is that supposed to mean.”

jisung approached the bench again, his hands stopped on either side of minho’s legs. “come with me. we can go tonight, right now. what’s stopping us?”

minho scoffed, a small laugh breaking through. he raised an eyebrow at the excited boy. “everything. literally everything is stopping us. you’re talking about leaving our families, our friends, our home.”

jisung was gesturing again. 

“home isn’t a place, it’s a feeling. my friends will know and they’ll be okay with it.”

minho sucked his bottom lip in between his teeth again. jisung had a point, he had a great point. “we wouldn’t get away that easily.” his voice was low, hesitant. 

“no one said it would be easy.” jisung whispered back, full of passion and enthusiasm. minho wanted to, he so wanted to. 

“how would we make money? where would we even go?”

“i have a plan for all of that.”

“and that is?”

“do you trust me?”

“unfortunately so.”

“with your book smarts and my streets smarts, we are unstoppable. who’s life are you living, yours or your fathers?” jisung was very close to his face now and he wasn’t backing up. this time he wasn’t running away. he was making a decision.

“mine. i’m living mine.”

jisung smiled, his mischievous grin on full display. “so prove it. come with me. from now on, lee minho makes his own choices.”

minho was cautious and hesitant and he rubbed his hands together as he asked, “this is my choice?”

jisung nodded back in reply. “entirely.”

minho had to decide. what  _ did  _ he want? he knew what he didn’t want. he  _ didn’t  _ want to be stuck in this town forever, stuck with his father and this last name and this  _ stupid fucking  _ reputation. he didn’t know what he wanted but he knew it wasn’t this. “meet me in an hour.”

jisungs cheeky little smile soothes his worries. “i’ll be here in an hour and a half.”

“i wouldn’t expect anything less.”

jisung backed up now, throwing his hands to his sides and very loudly exclaiming, “as initiation into freedom, i want you to do something right now. something you’ve always wanted to do but something stopped you.”

“right now?”

“yes, right now. just do something reckless.”

minho thought for a moment, pondering his brain until he found it. the one thing he wanted to do for a while. the one thing nothing was truly stopping him from doing, nothing but himself. in a blur, he lunged forward and grabbed jisungs face in his hands, pressing his lips to the younger’s. he kissed him only for a few seconds before pulling away.

“how’s that for reckless?” he chuckled when he saw the pink flush in jisungs cheeks. he felt in under his palms too. jisung blinked, then he laughed. 

“pretty fucking reckless if you ask me.” minho didn’t have time to respond to that, because jisung dove back in, capturing his lips in his own once more. they stood like that for a moment. 

“reckless, but han jisung approved?” minho asked when he pulled away for air. their smiles mirrored each other, minho’s arms wrapped around jisungs neck.

“definitely han jisung approved.” 

minho couldn’t help but laugh again, out of pure happiness and excitement. this was his. this life, this freedom, this boy, he was going to start making his own choices and dealing with the consequences on his own. “ i’ll see you in an hour and a half, han jisung.”

“see you then, lee minho.”

the two parted and went their opposite ways, their backs to each other as usual, only this time, they never looked forward as they moved. 

jisung isn’t sure when the sparkle in minho’s eyes became a sight he always wanted to see. minho isn’t sure when the blinding smile jisung wore as commonly as his leather jacket became an addiction.

that cold tuesday night, han jisung and lee minho would disappear from their town, never to look back or be heard from again. always at odds, no one could figure out what kind of situation could’ve happened that would lead to  _ both  _ of their disappearances. that tuesday night, han jisung let down his guard and surrendered it all to a boy in sweater vests and button-up shirts. that tuesday night, lee minho found out what it meant to live by his own rules, to be in complete control of his own future and to trust the boy with diamond studded leather.

they hated cliches, hated them leavingwith every fiber in their bodies, until they became one. and maybe, just maybe, this cliche was okay. the cliche of a boy with nothing going for him and the boy with everything going for him, it all in the dust as they ran out of their dark, and towards the light. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I had to rewrite this three times, absolutely no constructive criticism will be taken, thank you.


End file.
